“If you’re a hedonist who loves big, jammy Zins, don’t miss the wines from Wilson.” – Wine Spectator

The 97 points at $27 a pop factor aside, what’s this Primitivo business? Is that not good ole Zin?

Let’s revert to Decanter for a quick crash course: “The origins of Zinfandel trace back to Croatia where it’s known as Tribidrag or Crljenak Kaštelanski. In the US, the variety is known as Zinfandel, playing a key role in the establishment of California’s wine industry, and in Italy it’s recognised as Primitivo where the region of Puglia is home. Though elegant, fruity and fresh styles exist, Zinfandel tends to include brambly red and black berry aromas, dried and cooked fruits alongside spice, sometimes with vanilla or chocolatey notes from oak. Growing well in a warm climate, high sugar levels at harvest lead to high alcohol wines, yet the best examples balance this well with concentration of flavour, a rich mouthfeel and considered acidity.”

This example comes to us from the insanely reliable Wilson Artisan Wineries group. This small portfolio of boutique wineries has been hugely popular year after year since their humble beginnings in the early 1990s. With wines scoring big regularly with publications such as Wine Spectator, and an impeccable track record of literally hundreds of Gold Medals from competitions, they are unrivaled, just like their other acclaimed sister properties: Mazzocco, Matrix, Pezzi King, and Rockpile to name a few.

(Speaking of, we snuck in a couple of other hugely rated Wilson Zins into the store here for the day up for grabs, hint, hint.)

In fact, they’ve been so popular that the mainstream press can’t seem to catch up with reviewing these anymore before they sell out. The accolade worth noting is the Double Gold medal with 97 points it earned from the 2024 North Coast Wine Challenge by The Press Democrat this year as the top Primitivo!

And who other than the McClain family to source this beauty from, on their 3rd generation farming this Alexander Valley vineyard? Remarkably rich and polished, this wine is impressively built and jam-packed with personality. Blackberry and smoky cracked pepper aromas open to plump black raspberry, licorice, clove, cardamom, and nutmeg that slowly unfurl on the long, expressive finish.

That’s all there is, maybe emphasize the huge yum factor here for pocket change, it’s THAT good.